Mesa Half Marathon (1:31.58)

I had high hopes for the Mesa Half Marathon. Unfortunately, they didn’t totally come to fruition, but it wasn’t the worst race ever. The last time I ran the Mesa Half Marathon, I set a half marathon PR of 1:22:03. I haven’t wanted to come back because, honestly, I didn’t know how I would feel running much slower. I’ve run other races (including Carlsbad) much slower, but it hasn’t affected me. I think I just had a mental block on that sort of race.

Before the Mesa Half Marathon

If I’m being honest, it’s been a stressful few weeks at work. I worked so much that I only took two hours of PTO for two days of vacation. The weather locally has been okay, not great. It’s been cloudy, windy, and cold. (Seriously, how did I survive Northeast winters?) Anyway, Phoenix had perfect weather for enjoying the sun.

I got to Phoenix on Thursday. I relaxed most of Friday and even enjoyed some time doing literally nothing but lying down (seriously, when do we get that?). I ended up buying the biggest pancake I’ve ever seen in my life and had that for both lunch and dinner. I didn’t even finish half of it. This could have been a mistake and why I felt tired and lethargic. It’s not like I attempted to eat the entire thing and there wasn’t any crazy toppings or filling, but it was a lot of pancake.

I picked up my husband at the airport and then went straight to bed. With work, I haven’t slept well the past week and didn’t get the sleep I prefer (just tossing and turning both nights before the race). So I woke up the morning of the Mesa Half Marathon tired. Some people can function on little sleep, but that’s never really been me,

My husband drove me to the Mesa Half Marathon start. New for 2025 were the buses shuttling runners back to the Mesa Half Marathon start, with buses at the finish to take you to the start. I think it was a mistake, and there was so much traffic. They had to delay the start by about 15 minutes. In fact, when traffic was backed up over three miles on the highway, Tim drove up as far as he could and just dropped me off. I ended up running about 1.6 miles to the start, and it was the best way. I definitely made better time than anyone sitting in the car line.

The weather for 2025 was unseasonably warm. It was around 55 degrees when we started and 65 degrees when we finished…not awful, but not cool.

I talked with a couple of friends, then lined up, and we were off at 6:45 a.m.

Mesa Half Marathon Race

The first four miles of the Mesa Half Marathon are the most downhill, dropping about 10–20 feet. It’s not huge. When people think the Mesa Half Marathon is super downhill, they usually don’t realize the first half of the Mesa Marathon is downhill, and then it gradually becomes flat. My first mile was 6:52, and I should have known when that felt like a reach that it was going to be a rough day for me.

I decided to just hold on as long as I could. Was it the smartest idea? Probably not. Another thing I realized was how dehydrated I was. I looked back and realized I had probably only had about half my usual water intake. There’s a lot of little things I look back and think: I probably could have done that better.

The next few miles went by without much note. I could feel my body working harder than I would like. I ran a 6:43, 6:46, and 6:47. I knew I was likely not going to be able to hold that pace for the entirety of the race, but I didn’t want to give it up yet. So I just kept plugging along. I hit the fifth mile in 6:52, and that’s where I began to feel it.

The next few miles were 7:01, 7:02, and 7:03. I crossed the halfway point of the Mesa Half Marathon in 44:58. My body just felt tired, like I was fighting with myself every step. Just keep plodding along, I told myself. Don’t stop and walk. If you stop and walk, it’s game over. I had to tell myself that multiple times.

I tried to eat a gel around mile seven, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m not sure if it was dehydration or my stomach, but my body just didn’t want to consume anything. I decided not to force it. If it was a marathon, I would have forced myself to take it but for the half, I decided it just wasn’t worth it.

There are a couple of small hills from miles 8–10, and after a basically flat course for eight miles, they feel like mountains. Is the Mesa Half Marathon hilly? No, it’s one of the flattest halves I’ve ever run—it just feels that way because you’ve been on a flat or slightly downhill course for so long.

Mile 10 was my slowest (7:14). I thought, Well, if I just maintain this, I’ll be under 1:33. But I surprised myself and was able to pick it up a bit. I ran a 7:09, 7:07, followed by 6:59.

The Mesa Half Marathon merges with the 10K. Since we started late, we didn’t deal with as much 10K traffic as in previous years, and for that, I was happy. I hate when courses merge, it’s no fun for the people running fast or the people running slower. Plus, the risk of colliding is high.

The last two miles felt like a blur. I remember thinking if I can just keep it around 7 min pace, I could be under 1:32. I powered to the Mesa Half Marathon finish line and crossed in 1:31:58.

Mesa Half Marathon Thoughts

On one hand, I strongly believe I’m in sub-90-minute half marathon shape—I just haven’t had the day yet. I’ve done workouts this training cycle I couldn’t fathom before. On the other hand, I’m happy with how fast I did run given the day and that it was my day. If I had no clue about time, I would have thought I ran a 1:35 based on how I felt. Would I do the Mesa Half Marathon again? Maybe. I hope they figure out the bus situation for next year. I enjoyed the race and I enjoyed a short vacation away.

You can see Strava here and all race recaps here.

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Questions for you:

Have you run the Mesa Half Marathon?

What is your favorite half marathon?